Gasoline

Calif. City Reduces Fuel Use With Vehicle Calibration

In a successful pilot of anti-idling software across a variety of its vehicles, the City of Ontario, Calif., saw a fuel use reduction of 16%, prompting its fleet manager to call for expanded use.

In June 2016, the city used Derive Efficiency to calibrate five vehicles in its fleet, identifying five additional cars as control vehicles, said Craig Grabow, fleet services manager for the city. Three of the calibrated vehicles were from the Police Department, while two were from Utilities and Parks & Maintenance. Grabow had the police vehicles — a Ford Police Interceptor Utility, a Ford Crown Victoria, and a Chevrolet Tahoe PPV — calibrated for improved performance and efficiency during idling. He had two trucks — a Ford F-150 and a Chevrolet Silverado — calibrated for high fuel efficiency as well as reduced fuel use during idling.

Grabow said the vehicles in the pilot on average idle 56% of the time, and average fuel consumption is 140 gallons per month, per vehicle. Using Derive’s engine optimization software, the vehicles consumed 22.5 gallons less per month on average per vehicle. Using an average cost per gallon of $2.78, the average savings in fuel is calculated to be $62.55 per month, or $750.60 per year, per vehicle.

“With these savings the product would pay for itself in about six months,” he added.

The Ontario fleet used FuelMaster to track its idle time and fuel use. Grabrow said officers were happy with the additional power on police units, and one of the truck drivers noticed the vehicle acted slightly slower, which he was able to get used to.

Grabow is hoping to expand engine calibration to more vehicles in the fleet.

"Overall if we did the majority of our small fleet, our savings is expected at almost $90,000 per year in fuel,” he said.

The Ontario fleet consists of about 1,000 units, of which 685 are rolling stock.

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